This is a 10 page document summarising the reign of Henry VII between .
It covers Henry VII as an individual, rebellions under his reign, Government policies (the basics, and more in-depth), foreign policy, financial policy, region, education and all the other sections required of the OCR exam bo...
HENRY VII, 1485-1509
Section1:
Character:
- 1447, Henry 14, he fled to France due to Yorkist threat. He lived more of his life here as a fugitive.
This need to think decisively and under the radar proved useful.
- Had not expected to be King, so wasn’t brought up around politics etc.
Aims:
- Consolidate his position on the throne.
- Control the nobility
- Establish an effective government
- Maintain law and order
Claim to throne:
- Via his mother, Lady Margret Beaufort, who was a direct descendant of Edward III. However,
Margret’s grandfather- John Beaufort- had been born out of marriage.
- Via his father. Edmund’s mother had been married to Henry V before she married Edmund’s father.
Thus Edmund was Henry IV, the king’s, half brother.
Consolidation of Power:
- Short Term:
o Dated his reign a day before the Battle of Bosworth, anyone who fought on Yorkist side was a
traitor (Act of Attainders)
o Publically rewarded his supporters, 11 knighthoods.
o Arranged his coronation on 30 October, a week before Parliaments first meeting. Showed he
did not owe them his position.
o 1485: Act of Resumption- put all land that had been given to Yorkist’s back under crown
control.
o 1489- Arthur was born; secured dynasty
- Dealing with Yorkist’s:
o 1485 married Elizabeth of York; United two houses and got rid of some of York threat.
o Sent Earl of Warwick to the tower (10 y/o) he had the best challenge to throne (nephew of
Edward IV)
o John de La Pole/ Earl of Lincoln (Richard’s appointed heir) was not dealt with harshly. Only to
flee to Burgundy and gather support to overthrow king.
o Edmund de La Pole/ Duke of Suffolk later got involved in rebellion too.
o Henry Percy/ Earl of Northumberland; imprisoned briefly but released to help out in North-
appointed “Warden of Middle and East Marches”
o Thomas Howard; fought against Henry at BoB- attained in tower but released after declining
offer to get involved in Simnel’s Rebellion.
o 1503: Act of Livery: banned nobles from gathering private armies
o 1477: used the printing press to circulate propaganda justifying his succession from Richard III.
Controlling the Nobility:
- Nobles were vital for law and order. (ie; Henry Percy and Thomas Howard; lieutenant of the north)
But, they also had the power to make things difficult for the King (ie in retaining). So Henry need to
reduce the power, without isolating them. Henry controlled the nobility via rewards and
punishments.
‘CARROTS’:
1. Patronage: giving land/ titles away as a result of good service (pervious King’s had given out to win
support). Henry was not as generous as his predecessors. Applied to both Nobility and Gentry.
o Gave Patronage to those loyal to him at Battle of Bosworth.
- 11 knighthoods
- Earl of Oxford; land owner of East Anglia
- Edward Dudley became Henry’s lawyer/ advisor.
o Gave land to Laud Daubeney in Cornwall after supressing Cornish rebellion.
, 2. Order of the Garter: for those who had served the king well, considered an honour to receive. Did
not cost money, give away crown land, or allow anyone to become too powerful. BUT, some
considered it inadequate.
37 knights of the garter: Earl of Oxford, Reginald Bray.
3. Position in King’s Council: sign of trust and King’s confidence. Increased recipients power.
Bray, Daubeney and Guildford all proved their loyalty in exile with the King.
4. Position on the Great Council: meetings of noble men to discuss matters of state in matters of
emergency. Great method of control, if nobles had been involved when henry made a decision,
couldn’t go against him.
There were 5 meetings. (used rarely)
ie in 1496 granted £120,000 for Scottish war.
5. Acts of Attainder: were reversible for good behaviour. Henry passed 138 and reversed 46.
Thomas Howard, fought alongside Richard III at BoB, in 1489 took ‘the oath if allegiance’
and his title was restored, and made Lord Lieutenant of North.
‘STICKS’
In Henry VII’s reign: 62 peerage families- 46 were at the king’s mercy.
1. Acts of Attainder: leading families to lose land and titles. Way of maintain good behaviour. Became
more severe with time.
Passes 138, revered 46
Thomas Howard.
2. Bonds and Recognisances: bonds- written agreement to pay a sum of money if failed to carry out a
promise. Recognisances- formal acknowledgement that a debt/ obligation already existed, money
demanded if not met.
Bond: Henry didn’t trust Marquis of Dorset, put a bond of £1,000 on him to try and
ensure loyalty.
1485-1509 36 out of the 62 noble families were under bonds and/or recognisances.
Controlled by Council Learned in Law- setup in 1495
3. Feudal Dues: keen to assert his power over the nobility. Feudal dues helped Henry financially and
re-establish his power as monarch.
- Feudal dues: 1487= £350 …. 1507: £6,000
o Wardship: Henry took control of the estates of minors until they became of age. Made profit
form land.
o Marriage: Controlled marriages to stop power blocks from forming.
Duchess of Buckingham fined £7,000 for marrying without permission.
o Livery: had to pay king to recover land from wardship.
o Relief: King received money as land was inherited.
4. Retaining: long- held noble practise. Lords would recruit men of low social status to fight with them
is needed. Served King’s interest to gather a reasonable sized army in short notice. However, nobles
could become more powerful than king.
1487 and 1504 passed laws restricting retaining.
Lords and commons had to swear in 1485 Parliament they would not retain illegally.
1504: had to get a licence to retain given by King in person. Threat of financial ruin. £5 a
month for every illegal retainer.
- 1506 Lord Burgavenny fined £70,000
- Earl of Oxford fined £10,000
5. Crown’s Lands: wanted to bring back as much land as possible to the crown. Land was power.
Estimated Crown’s land was 5 times larger at the end of Henry’s rule.
1485 Act of Resumption; recovered all Crown’s properties since 1455.
Used land from confiscated estates to reward people, not crowns land.
Was Henry Anti nobility?
YES NO
Reluctant to share power. ie; Order of the Trusted Jasper Tudor and the Stanleys. Those who
Garter. 16 peers at start of reign shrank to 10. served him well were rewarded. Thomas howrd
Didn’t replace if died. was given a chance after supporting Richard at
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